People always ask me if I cook at home, since I’m cooking everyday at The Curious Kitchen. My answer is “yes” – because dishes like this one come together in 20 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, I prepare the sauce. A quick tasty side salad of Arugula, Tomato, Shredded Mozzarella with Vinegar & Oil… and dinner is served!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb dry Spaghetti
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 ounces Pancetta, cubed
4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 large Eggs
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
1 handful Parsley, chopped (save some for garnish)
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper

METHOD
Prepare the pasta according to the package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

In a heavy saucepan add the olive oil and pancetta.
Sauté for about 3 minutes, until the pancetta is crisp.
Add the garlic into the pan and sauté for less than 1 minute to soften.
In a separate bowl mix the eggs with the Parmesan Cheese, stirring to remove any lumps.
As soon as the pasta is ready, remove it from the hot water using a pasta spoon and add it into the pancetta saucepan (do not throw out the pasta water!).
It is very important that the pasta is really hot; because the heat of the pasta will cook the raw eggs, so stir in the egg mixture in quickly.
Add a little, about ¼ cup, of the reserved hot pasta water to thin out the sauce.
Season pasta with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper.
Taste and season with salt, if needed
Mound the Carbonara into warm serving bowls.
Garnish with parsley and serve with additional Parmesan Cheese, if desired.
Enjoy!

Anyway, I was craving pasta and the basil in the garden is so beautiful, it just made sense to harvest some and make this dish.

I thought garlic toast would be a good  side to the pasta. I spread a thin layer of homemade garlic sauce on toasted bread, topped that with a few of the whole basil leaves, which was then topped with mozzarella cheese, and a little Italian seasoning. Put it under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted.

Here’s my quick and delicious recipe. Hope you give it a try.

When I don’t have a plan for dinner I often throw together quick pasta dishes with whatever I happen to have on-hand in the veggie bin. I always have lots of varieties of dry pasta in the pantry, but on this particular occasion I made fresh pasta. I could have just eaten the noodles with butter & Parmesan and been very happy! However, this combination of peppers, fennel and sausage was really delicious. I used hot turkey sausages, because I like it spicy, but sweet sausages with the fennel would work beautifully. Give my recipe a try, or come up with a combo of your own based on what’s in your veggie bin!